natFall/Winter 2016 uralyourL home.iv youri nworld.g presented to you by Natural Gas The Best Value For Your Money 08 INSIDE FEATURE 08 A great deal Natural gas offers a superior energy value proposition. 14 IN EVERY ISSUE naturalNews 03 The right choice Gains in energy efficiency make natural gas heating a no-brainer. naturalFit 06 Warm and cozy Natural gas fireplaces create a warm and welcoming atmosphere. naturallyBetter 12 Bringing the heat Natural gas water heaters beat the competition, producing more hot water and lower operating costs. ­­naturalLiving is a free publication brought to you by Energy Solutions Center, published in cooperation with PRISM Media Group. naturalChoices 14 Fired up naturalLiving is published twice annually by PRISM Media Group, 405 State Highway 121 Bypass, Suite A250, Lewisville, TX 75067. Visit PRISM Media Group Gas is a natural fuel choice for professional chefs. on the web at www.prismmediagroup.com. No part of this publication may be reprinted without permission. Copyright 2016 Energy Solutions Center. naturallyGood 16 Black pepper-pomegranate molasses glazed turkey PRISM Media Group President: Ray Larson Editorial Director: Stephanie Anderson Forest Production Manager: Pete Adauto Graphic Designer: Nancy Kekich For advertising information contact Barbara Stinson: [email protected] Please recycle this magazine after you read it. 02 naturalLiving ❙ Fall - Winter 2016 naturalNews The right choice Gains in energy efficiency make natural gas heating a no-brainer. By Drew Robb atural gas heating has held the economic advantage over $868. Electric heating on the other hand, costs $2,868 per year. electricity and oil for quite some time. Steady gains in en- “Natural gas is an affordable, clean, safe and reliable energy choice for ergy efficiency mean that natural gas is by far the most cost homeowners,” said Timothy M. Egan, president and CEO, Canadian Gas effective way to heat a home or a commercial property. Association. “At a time when other energy costs are rising, Ontarians N“In many markets, it is much less expensive to use gas for heating,” are getting excellent value from their natural gas use.” said Marc Chenier, general manager at Canada-based Dettson Indus- The same is true for U.S. consumers. According to the American Gas tries. “Gas has become very competitive, even more so when you com- Association (AGA), natural gas prices have been at historic lows for the bine heating with gas stoves, clothes dryers and other appliances.” past couple of years. These prices are boosted even further by recent Figures from StatCan, Canada’s national statistical agency, cite the gains in efficiency that are passed directly to the consumer. average annual cost for home heating with natural gas in Canada to be (continued on page 04) Please recycle this magazine after you read it. Fall - Winter 2016 ❙ naturalLiving 03 naturalNews (continued from page 03) RIGHT SIZIng EffICIencY MatteRS Dettson, for example, has developed a technique to distribute air By its very nature, natural gas is a far more efficient source of heating better by right sizing the unit to tailor it to the needs of the home. This than electricity. Bruce McDowell, managing director, energy analysis prevents energy waste by producing the required amount of heating and standards, AGA, noted that about 90 percent of natural gas pro- accurately instead of blasting out too much heat in short bursts, which duced is delivered to customers as useful energy — only about 10 per- leaves some parts of the home too hot while large areas remain cold. cent is lost in the process. In contrast, only about 30 percent of the en- Chenier said that this is accomplished by improving ventilation and air ergy converted to electricity in conventional generating facilities reaches flow in order to provide uniform heating for all spaces. consumers — a staggering 70 percent is lost along the way. Part of it is The system works via a series of smart ducts, which are 2.5 inches wasted while burning energy to create electricity. The rest is lost in the in size, that are strategically positioned around the building. As well transmission and distribution of the electricity to the home or business. as taking up less space than traditional ducts, they offer far better air “If you consider the inherent energy losses in electricity generation distribution. Technicians precisely define the heating and cooling load and transmission, natural gas furnaces are the most efficient heating to determine the number and placement of ducts. As each duct has a option in terms of both cost and energy usage,” said Mark Ladd, senior diffuser at the end, air is more evenly spread around the area. product manager, Carrier Corp. Further, the latest generation of gas heaters is unlike older models But that is only the beginning of the efficiency story. Advances in tech- in many other ways. (See related article on page 05). Early gas furnaces nology have boosted gas appliance efficiency to unprecedented levels. were either all on or all off. A thermostat controlled their operation Natural gas appliances are faster and use less energy than electric ap- and the result was a lot of heat in one burst, then no heat at all until the pliances. Take the case of natural gas furnaces. They typically last longer preset temperature limit was reached. Consequently, parts of the space than electric heat pumps and deliver heat that is up to 25° Fahrenheit would be warm and others would remain unheated. Chenier explained warmer. According to the AGA, a new, high-efficiency natural gas fur- that such blasts produce different zones of heat both horizontally and nace and cooling system can save up to $1,200 a year in operating costs. vertically. A later improvement was the two-stage heater where a little “Innovation introduced into the latest wave of heaters has pushed more control could be implemented. But the newest models have a gas natural gas efficiency close to 100 percent,” said Dettson’s Chenier. valve that modulates the quantity of heat evenly and precisely. SILence, PLeaSE “This is far more efficient; instead of blasting out a lot of heat for two minutes, it gradually emits heat over a longer period,” Chenier said. “This pro- vides people with a lot more comfort, as the entire space is warmed rather than a few pockets.” These more efficient gas heaters have another major benefit — lack of noise. Traditional heaters would turn a powerful fan on to push a large quan- tity of hot air into the room. These days, slow and evenly distributed heat- ing consumes less fuel and emits very little sound. “Today, people want uniform, ther- mal comfort and relative quiet,” said Chenier. “The latest gas heaters pro- vide both costs effectively.” This new breed of gas furnaces is now widely available and the leading 04 naturalLiving ❙ Fall - Winter 2016 the years, and advances in design will continue to drive fur- naces closer toward 100 percent efficiency,” Ladd said. “To- day, there are several furnaces available with ratings over 98 percent AFUE, which translates into over 98 percent of fuel energy converted into useful heating energy.” EffICIent, GOOD FOR THE ENVIRONMent The efficiency of natural gas furnaces is also good for the environment. Since it is by far the cleanest fossil fuel around, natural gas is, therefore, a highly efficient form of energy. Com- pared to other fuels, it has fewer impurities, is less chemically complex, and it’s combustion results in far less pollution. “Using natural gas to replace less environmentally benign fuels can help address simultaneously a number of environ- models supply over 95 percent annual fuel utilization efficiency (AFUE). mental concerns, such as smog, acid rain and greenhouse gas emis- This means that almost all of the energy in the natural gas is converted sions,” said AGA’s McDowell. into useful energy to heat the home. Natural gas heating, then, is the right choice in more ways than one. “Residential gas furnace efficiency has improved significantly over Not only is it right for the home but it’s good for the environment. n InnOVatIVE gaS-HeatIng OptIONS HIT THE MARKet There are many great new options on the market that efficiency via its AirFlex technology that allows the local incorporate the best in gas-heating innovation. The Chi- dealer to adjust airflow to best match a specific lifestyle, nook Compact, for example, is designed for multifamily home design and geographic location. When paired construction. It provides 15,000 BTUs of heat and up to with the Lennox iComfort S30 thermostat, the SLP98V 1 ton of cooling capacity. All of this comes packed into a adapts to the routine of the home and adjusts tempera- unit that is 10 inches by 23 inches. The Chinook line of tures accordingly. gas furnaces from Dettson Industries provide around 96 percent efficiency. ES “The Chinook Compact is about the size of a desktop I USTR computer and provides what people want — uniform D thermal comfort without a lot of noise,” said Marc Che- nier, general manager at Canada-based Dettson. Similarly, the Carrier Infinity 98 Gas Furnace offers a combination of efficiency, comfort and smart tech- nology for those who want to be comfortable and lower their energy bills. Features include up to 98.5 percent heating efficiency, Greenspeed intelligence PHOTO COURTESY OF DETTSON IN for comfort and energy savings, a modulating gas valve capable of matching the heating needs of the home, and a variable-speed blower motor for ultra- quiet operation. Another of the latest wave of highly efficient natural gas furnaces is produced by Lennox International Inc. The Chinook Compact from Dettson The Lennox SLP98V, for example, offers 98.7 percent is part of a new breed of high efficiency natural gas space heaters.